The base starts with thinly sliced eggplant (the thinner the better), which is then dipped in gluten-free flour, almond milk, and finally a crispy breading comprised of cornmeal, vegan parmesan cheese, and gluten-free bread crumbs.

Once they’re breaded, simply sauté on both sides until golden brown and then bake in the oven until crispy. All that’s left to do is top with a little red sauce and vegan cheese of choice and bake again until hot. And voila! Eggplant pizza.

We hope you LOVE these mini pizzas! They’re:

Crispy
Cheesy
Saucy
Versatile
Flavorful
& Uber delicious

These pizzas would make the perfect side on Italian night or main when paired with hearty greens or our Best Vegan Meatballs! We especially love how crispy they are and that each bite includes plenty of hearty red sauce and vegan cheese!

Next, dip eggplant slices in flour mixture, then almond milk mixture, and then breadcrumb mixture and arrange dipped rounds on a clean plate or baking sheet.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp oil (30 ml // as recipe is written // adjust if altering batch size). Let the oil heat for 1 minute. Then add 4-5 eggplant rounds at a time and brown for ~2-3 minutes on each side or until light golden brown. Then add to the prepared baking sheet and add baking sheet to the oven so the eggplant can start baking.

Continue browning eggplant in batches until all rounds are browned and in the oven, adding more oil to the cooking pan as needed. Turn heat down if eggplant rounds are browning too quickly.

Bake eggplant for 15-20 minutes or until crispy and golden brown, flipping once around the halfway mark to ensure even baking. Prepare sauce, vegan cheese, and any other toppings at this time (optional). Set aside.

Remove eggplant from the oven when crispy and golden brown. Top with a little red sauce, vegan cheese of choice, and any other toppings, such as mixed vegetables. Bake for another 5-7 minutes or until cheese is lightly golden brown. Enjoy as is or garnish with red pepper flake, fresh basil, or vegan parmesan cheese.

Best when fresh. But you can store completely cooled eggplant (that hasn’t had any sauce or toppings added) covered in the refrigerator up to 2 days. Reheat on a baking sheet in a 350-degree F (176 C) oven until hot. You can also freeze UNCOOKED coated eggplant slices in a single layer and store in a freezer-safe container up to 1 month. From frozen, sauté on both sides until golden brown. Then bake in a 375-degree F (190 C) oven until hot, crispy, and golden brown. Top with desired toppings and then bake again to warm toppings - about 5 minutes.

Notes

*For non-crispy eggplant pizza that’s quicker and doesn’t require breading, simply slice eggplant into slightly thicker 1/2-inch slices and drizzle both sides with avocado or olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill either side on a hot grill or grill pan (or broil in the oven on medium on both sides) until grill marks appear and surface is lightly golden brown. Transfer eggplant to a baking sheet and top with desired amounts of sauce, vegan cheese of choice, and any other desired toppings. Then bake at 400 degrees F (204 C) until hot and the toppings are slightly browned - about 7 minutes. Enjoy.*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with 1 tsp vegan almond ricotta per slice and without optional ingredients.

Ok, first off this is great, however it took me an hour to get it made. I think if it’s in your normal arsenal, it’d take 30 minutes. There are 3 other recipes hiding inside this one. If I did it again, I would just put some oil in the baking pan and use store bought vegan cheese and sauce. It would not be as good, but it would be quicker. We added artichokes on top.

Thanks for the feedback, Perry! The DIY vegan cheese and tomato sauce are definitely steps that are optional but hopefully can be done when the eggplant is baking. Thanks for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed it!

First, I didn’t think your vegan eggplant parmesan could get any better and then you go and make eggplant pizzas!!! They turned out amazing. Crispy, tomato saucy deliciousness. We added roasted red bell peppers, sundried tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, and olives. This is a keeper in our home. Thank you for sharing your culinary talents with us.

First, I want a mini Dana to live in my kitchen. You’re so creative and all of your recipes that I’ve tried have worked out amazing. My non Vegan friends are always impressed.

I wanted to ask, in your original Vegan Eggplant parmesan recipe you go to a lot of trouble to dry out the eggplant slices, salting and pressing them. In the gluten free updated versions since, you don’t include these steps. Are they unnecessary?

I made this 2 nights ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. It truly was fantastic. I am only going to comment on the “base” bc anybody who makes any kind of pizza is going to top it to their liking. I followed the instructions to the letter for the base and I couldn’t love it any better. The outcome was a delicious surprise to me. It was soft & marvelous on the inside & it was over the top crunchy on the outside. There is no doubt that this is a keeper bc I know that I will make this over & over again. Thanks Dana!

I used to eat eggplant this way as a teenager! The only difference is that I wouldn’t use the flour blend or cornstarch. I’m sure these would taste like small eggplant Parmigianas–absolutely to die for!

Made this for dinner tonight and it was so so good! A bit time consuming because you can only fit so many slices in a pan to brown at once but even making all the extra toppings, it took just over an hour and that’s not bad! And the final product is worth it! I’ll make these again.